I know that I am not the only low income American out there. I also know that I am not the "representative" of such, but I would like to respond to the allegations of class warfare, and the idea that those of us who have very little are jealous of Mitt Romney.
First of all asking that all people pay a fair tax is not class warfare, it is simply a request that those who make money contribute to the country that they live in. If you look at Mitt as compared to me, he has not worked in ten years and stores large sums of money overseas. I spend all of my money in this country. Mitt has been known to insinuate that the poor are lazy parasites who do nothing for our economy, this is not true: people who receive assistance from social programs, don't have tax shelters, they spend all of their money in the sate where they live, they pay taxes toward Social Security also, which is more than we can say for Mitt.
So, no Mitt we don't give a flying fuck how much money you make, it's how little you contribute to the nation you profess to love that matters to us.
Mitt Romney made over 20 million dollars, and yes he paid a small amount in taxes, but he did not work for that money, it was interest from investments. He hid that money away in foreign bank accounts, and lived and thrived in a country that he does not contribute his fair share to.
This country is not a business, do we really want a man who will treat parts of this country as if they were failing companies. A lot of what is involved in running a country does not make profit, most of what we do is investing in the future of the American people. You can't just shut down schools and hospitals because they are not making congressmen wealthy. Mitt keeps claiming that we don't know how the economy works, well he does not know how a government works, and because of this he is the biggest threat to this nation.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
State of the union.
This years state of the union served as both an address on how the country is doing, and a chance for president Obama to outline his plan for the future, and as a very public set up for his presidential campaign As a result of a very dysfunctional congress, it felt like some of what was said was the same as last year. There were a lot of things I liked about it though.
The president talked about lowering the tax rate for corporations. I am not in agreement with this idea, as I feel that corporations who gain from our labor should have to contribute to this country. I did like what Obama said about taking tax breaks away from companies that outsource their jobs.
I appreciated his comments about enforcing the reforms that would prevent poor bank practices, although I think this came a little too late.
I was impressed with what he had to say about education. The idea that businesses will help community colleges train people for jobs that they will be able to move right in to is a great idea. I agree with the notion that education is essential to the success to this nation, so I was pleased to see the president demand more from congress in the form of school funding.
The president suggested that states change their policies for letting high school students drop out. He challenged them to only allow students to drop out after they turned 18. This is a really good idea, because more and more jobs are not happy with applicants who have a GED rather than an actual diploma. Dropping out of school is a big decision that can have negative effects for that student's future life. It is for similar reasons that we make students wait until they are 18 to join the military, we want those who join to be at an age to understand more fully what they are doing, we should do the same for those who are thinking about dropping out of high school.
He entered more fully into campaign mode when in what seemed a total disconnected thought he mentions equal pay for women.
I was impressed with how he shut down many of the attacks against him, and stood by his decisions. He came across as optimistic while the Republican who gave the rebuttal sounded pessimistic and antagonistic.
The president talked about lowering the tax rate for corporations. I am not in agreement with this idea, as I feel that corporations who gain from our labor should have to contribute to this country. I did like what Obama said about taking tax breaks away from companies that outsource their jobs.
I appreciated his comments about enforcing the reforms that would prevent poor bank practices, although I think this came a little too late.
I was impressed with what he had to say about education. The idea that businesses will help community colleges train people for jobs that they will be able to move right in to is a great idea. I agree with the notion that education is essential to the success to this nation, so I was pleased to see the president demand more from congress in the form of school funding.
The president suggested that states change their policies for letting high school students drop out. He challenged them to only allow students to drop out after they turned 18. This is a really good idea, because more and more jobs are not happy with applicants who have a GED rather than an actual diploma. Dropping out of school is a big decision that can have negative effects for that student's future life. It is for similar reasons that we make students wait until they are 18 to join the military, we want those who join to be at an age to understand more fully what they are doing, we should do the same for those who are thinking about dropping out of high school.
He entered more fully into campaign mode when in what seemed a total disconnected thought he mentions equal pay for women.
I was impressed with how he shut down many of the attacks against him, and stood by his decisions. He came across as optimistic while the Republican who gave the rebuttal sounded pessimistic and antagonistic.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Meet the press, facebook debate.
Having watched the debate on Saturday, I was curious to see what another debate so soon afterword would bring. What it brought was candidates challenging Mitt Romney. This made me very happy. It is good to see the other candidates stand up for themselves, rather than let the richer man beat up on them. Since I waited so long to write about it, I cannot pretend that the events of Monday morning have not in some small part effected how I am reacting. Mitt is sliding in the polls, just a little bit. This is due to a great comment made by John Huntsman. Early in the debate Huntsman had a very strong moment when he said that he would put his country first. He then mentioned the fact that he has two sons in the Navy, who serve their country and do not care whether the president is a Republican or a Democrat.
I found that even though Romney dodged (poorly I might add) tough questions, the candidates did give answers that had some substance in them.
So what did they say? To those who have been following the candidates there are no real surprises.
HUNTSMAN: Still endorses the Paul Ryan budget.
SANTORUM: Wants means tested Social Security, this means that wealthy seniors would get less benefits. Believes that food stamps and Medicaid should be given to the states as a block grant. This means that no federal guidelines would be given to the states. Right now states are required to cover all health and dental benefits to children who qualify for the program. Some states do more for adults, some states do less. States like Utah could very well decide that the program will not cover all health needs for children. He also wants to put a limit on how long a person can receive benefits. This breaks his own rule of letting states decide, and also opens up the very real possibility that families who are out of work for long periods would go without.
GINGRICH: Believes that major cuts to social programs can be avoided if the government would enforce welfare fraud laws.
The candidates were asked whether it was un-American to ask for government assistance, none of them said that it was not. Rick Perry came close when he said that people want jobs they don't "clamor" for benefits.
Santorum sounded a bit hypocritical when he talked about Iran being a theocracy that we could not tolerate that kind of government, when days before he had said that the U.S needs a "Jesus candidate".
Romney looked like an out of touch elitist when he said that it made him happy that Ted Kennedy had to mortgage his house in order to beat him. He followed this up by saying that he "liked" firing people who worked for him.
Well, the real race begins soon, so we will have to wait and see if another candidate can unseat Romney.
I found that even though Romney dodged (poorly I might add) tough questions, the candidates did give answers that had some substance in them.
So what did they say? To those who have been following the candidates there are no real surprises.
HUNTSMAN: Still endorses the Paul Ryan budget.
SANTORUM: Wants means tested Social Security, this means that wealthy seniors would get less benefits. Believes that food stamps and Medicaid should be given to the states as a block grant. This means that no federal guidelines would be given to the states. Right now states are required to cover all health and dental benefits to children who qualify for the program. Some states do more for adults, some states do less. States like Utah could very well decide that the program will not cover all health needs for children. He also wants to put a limit on how long a person can receive benefits. This breaks his own rule of letting states decide, and also opens up the very real possibility that families who are out of work for long periods would go without.
GINGRICH: Believes that major cuts to social programs can be avoided if the government would enforce welfare fraud laws.
The candidates were asked whether it was un-American to ask for government assistance, none of them said that it was not. Rick Perry came close when he said that people want jobs they don't "clamor" for benefits.
Santorum sounded a bit hypocritical when he talked about Iran being a theocracy that we could not tolerate that kind of government, when days before he had said that the U.S needs a "Jesus candidate".
Romney looked like an out of touch elitist when he said that it made him happy that Ted Kennedy had to mortgage his house in order to beat him. He followed this up by saying that he "liked" firing people who worked for him.
Well, the real race begins soon, so we will have to wait and see if another candidate can unseat Romney.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
NH Republican debate.
The republican candidates debate two times this weekend before they participate in the primary on Tuesday. I have watched tonight's debate, and have some reaction to how it went.
My overall impressions are these: 1) It seems that the other candidates are not that committed to beating Mitt Romney. They were given ample opportunistic to draw him out and contest his record, but they did not. Santorum and Gingrich made a few weak swipes, but no real effort. I am not asking that they be nasty, I am just asking that they ask the questions of him that their supporters want asked. 2) Can Mitt just answer a question? I know, it's normal for a politician to dodge questions, but Mitt seems to have his dodge question setting on "high". 3) There have been no recent mentions of Tea Party events yet they still look to impress this group. This should concern moderate Republicans.
Now to the candidates themselves.
Santorum again advocates cutting all social programs.
Huntsman In favor of term limits in congress. I like this idea as well.
He is the only candidate that has experiences outside of the United States.
Romney Says that Obama made one mistake after another when it came to foreign policy. I find this interesting considering that Obama aided the people of Libya, used the information gathered to find Osama Bin Laden.
Says that Obama cut defense spending. This is not true, though he as advocated doing so he has signed a new bill that allocates over sixty billion dollars in new spending. He said that America needs to be able to fight two wars at once. His only solution to create jobs is cutting regulations that protect workers. He does not believe that Americans have a right to privacy implied in the constitution. This will be a problem among some Republicans and moderates and independent voters.
Perry We need to use natural resources that are found on federal lands.
Romney came off as at least somewhat sympathetic to gay couples. All candidates still stand by the ridiculous idea that marriage as one man one woman is three thousand years old. This is simply not true, perhaps these men aught to read the bible instead of just waving it around. This would have been a great time to bring up that marriage for Romney and Huntsman included polygamy until a few hundred years ago.
Paul This was my favorite moment of the night, so I will quote it as directly as I can. "A person who has not gone to war has no business sending men and women to war.: Ron Paul
This was said to Newt who did not go to war. This was a lovely moment.
Well that's pretty much it.
My overall impressions are these: 1) It seems that the other candidates are not that committed to beating Mitt Romney. They were given ample opportunistic to draw him out and contest his record, but they did not. Santorum and Gingrich made a few weak swipes, but no real effort. I am not asking that they be nasty, I am just asking that they ask the questions of him that their supporters want asked. 2) Can Mitt just answer a question? I know, it's normal for a politician to dodge questions, but Mitt seems to have his dodge question setting on "high". 3) There have been no recent mentions of Tea Party events yet they still look to impress this group. This should concern moderate Republicans.
Now to the candidates themselves.
Santorum again advocates cutting all social programs.
Huntsman In favor of term limits in congress. I like this idea as well.
He is the only candidate that has experiences outside of the United States.
Romney Says that Obama made one mistake after another when it came to foreign policy. I find this interesting considering that Obama aided the people of Libya, used the information gathered to find Osama Bin Laden.
Says that Obama cut defense spending. This is not true, though he as advocated doing so he has signed a new bill that allocates over sixty billion dollars in new spending. He said that America needs to be able to fight two wars at once. His only solution to create jobs is cutting regulations that protect workers. He does not believe that Americans have a right to privacy implied in the constitution. This will be a problem among some Republicans and moderates and independent voters.
Perry We need to use natural resources that are found on federal lands.
Romney came off as at least somewhat sympathetic to gay couples. All candidates still stand by the ridiculous idea that marriage as one man one woman is three thousand years old. This is simply not true, perhaps these men aught to read the bible instead of just waving it around. This would have been a great time to bring up that marriage for Romney and Huntsman included polygamy until a few hundred years ago.
Paul This was my favorite moment of the night, so I will quote it as directly as I can. "A person who has not gone to war has no business sending men and women to war.: Ron Paul
This was said to Newt who did not go to war. This was a lovely moment.
Well that's pretty much it.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Romney speech.
Mitt Romney always sounds so false. He is always "on", he has no ability to speak from the heart and speak with passion. His speech was essentially the same one he gave a few days ago. He is not going to win the nomination because he may be free of major moral gaffs, but he is boring and comes across as:a) a robot b) an ass hole or c)an ass hole robot.
Rick Santorum speech.
Santorum came out of the back of the pack to all but win the Iowa votes. He gave a speech at the end of the voting, that I would like to respond to. First it is important to note that Rick is a better speaker than his close competitor Romney. He comes across as very sincere and passionate. He is smart in the way he speaks to an audience. He speaks to the crowd he is addressing. His quoting of C.S Lewis was well played. He is also very smart about how he phrases really poor ideas. This is demonstrated by his ideas about regulations. He is brilliant in the way he states "facts'. His assertions that we are losing jobs in America because of regulations. He is smart to keep it vague, rather than discuss safety standards or child labor laws he uses the blanket term regulations. The reality about what he is talking about is the possibility, and only the possibility of low paying unsafe jobs being brought back to this country. He is brilliant in his ability to leave out facts and make it seem like we are not missing anything.
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